Nocturna

Finally got around to trying this. What I love the most about Nocturna is the constant evolution of the scent. I don't think it's actually comparable to Sunset Hour. Before this review, I specifically went and got my sample of Sunset Hour, put a couple sprays on my right hand and the profiles aren't similar. Sunset Hour is a fruity, bubble gum sweet spring-summer fragrance. Regarding Nocturna: Smells like Angels' Share with melon at the open, but that comparison fades super quickly. It has that type of a resinous open. Clearly feminine - at its core, after the instant drydown, this is a peachy-floral scent with very natural smelling components. That base vanilla note adds to the blend by making the peach more sugary; so think sugared peaches with floral tones. NOTE: This "peach" aspect will be melon to some, lychee to others. It's sugared tropical fruit basically, but I will say that it's not so much fruity as it is sweet and floral AND POWDERY. The ambergris and sandalwood give it a slight smoky undertone in the base after the first ~20 or so minutes as well as an ever-so-slight warm spiciness, but you really have to go looking for these - they are not at all noticeable in the air. EDIT: I subsequently tested SHL's God of Fire and that actually smells eerily similar to this, with the peach here being the mango equivalent in the SHL. So I think God of Fire and Nocturna are the best comparables to each other. When I presented the comparable, it was at 0-0, so it appears people are on the same wave length regarding this comparison. Longevity I'd expect on the lower end of long-lasting, so 8-10 hours. Sillage I suspect will be moderate for most of the scent's lifetime, but it does open strong and remain for at least 2.5-3 hours. This is fine for both day and night wear because, to me, it has a certain youthfulness to it. I'd say target demo is women between 20 and 30. I think it's best suited for spring/fall and summer date nights. This is not a typical gourmand fragrance, there's too much going on. It's also not dense enough to be a winter fragrance. Value is going to be okay strictly for the quality of the scent you are getting.

I don’t know how to describe this scent properly. It is not a bad scent, it’s nice enough. But it strongly reminds me of something else that I have smelled before. And that something else was way way cheaper than Nocturna. This is certainly long lasting on my t-shirt, but I am underwhelmed for the price. To me, the deep 7+ hour dry down of Nocturna is similar to the dry down of Dahab by Kajal or Posi by V Canto. Coming back to it 24 hours later and Nocturna does not really smell like Dahab. Nocturna is definitely much smother and more refined. Nocturna is not a bad fragrance, but I still can’t get rid of the thought that I have smelled something extremely similar before for a fraction of the cost. The longevity is excellent: 24+ hours on cotton t-shirt.

I wore this yesterday and the wife and I went to eat and halfway through our meal a waitress who was not our waitress came over to our table and said "One of you smell really good, it is all we can smell standing all the way over there, as soon as you came in and walked by" I told her what i was wearing and then googled it, she got out her phone and asked if she could take a picture of it...I will say it does not smell like any of the ones people are saying, I do overspray both on skin and cloths to get the room filling performance and scent trail, it is warm, seductive and very sexy...

I want to write another review after owning and wearing Nocturna for a while. Nocturna has become a love for me, just like most of the fragrances from Royal Crown. Nocturna is not synthetic at all, it does not smell like Dahab or Posi (or anything even remotely close to anything from these houses). It is alluring, elevated, and refined. It boast one of the best ambergris usages in perfume that I have encountered. Highly recommend to try it. The performance is really good too. Yes, I agree that it is expensive, but to me it is worthy of being a signature scent.

Beyond seductive. Nectary, aquatic fruits on top of bright lush florals. As it dries down, the sweet velvety vanilla gorgeously contrasts the amber-forward slightly salty ambergris. It reminds me of a marriage of two of my favorite perfumes - Delina Exclusif (juicy litchi florals) and Boadicea 1907 (sweet and woody).